Attribute Slow Growth to Fed's Policies

Attribute Slow Growth to Fed's Policies

Regarding the opinion-page article "An Antidote for Clintonomics," June 17: There are several problems with the author's analysis.The postwar era witnessed countless regulations mistakenly applied to a host of industries. It wasn't until the mid-1970s and '80s that deregulation took hold. We have been more deregulated in the past three years than at any time since the end of World War II.

The same holds true for taxes. Marginal tax rates were first reduced during the Kennedy-Johnson years, and then again during the Reagan years. If averaged out, marginal tax rates were certainly higher from 1945-92 than during Clinton's presidency.

The slow growth that Clinton refers to over the past three years can be attributed to the policies of the Federal Reserve - and not to any particular policy proposed by either the administration or by Congress. Every major newspaper and magazine has boldly acknowledged that it is the Fed's vigilance toward inflation that has kept growth at a snail's pace. And if I recall correctly, wasn't Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan first appointed by a Republican president?

Robert A. Rosenthal

North Easton, Mass.

Professor of Economics, Stonehill College

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